You’ve probably heard by now that confidence plays an important role in performance – athletic performance, academic performance, performance at work, etc. Confidence, or the belief that you can successfully perform a behavior, can enhance concentration, increase effort, motivate us to set higher goals, and help us persist when we encounter obstacles. But we’ve all had those days where our confidence is low. So what we do about it?Just like an injured body part, like a pulled hamstring, our confidence can become injured as well. Ignoring our confidence “muscle” will lead to its atrophy, and possibly to its improper healing. A weakened or still injured confidence muscle can interfere with our performance unless we choose to strengthen it, just as we strengthen our other muscles.Here are three strategies, backed by research, we can use to strengthen our confidence muscles.

1. Walk strongThere is a mind-body connection. If we want to raise our hand, a signal from our brain tells us to raise our hand. So how does our brain know we raised our hand? A signal is sent back. There is this two-way message system for every movement our body makes, including facial expressions. If we “act” confident, or even stand or walk confidently, our body sends the message to our brain that we are confident. Research tells us that standing like a superhero (legs apart, shoulders back, head up) actually increases the testosterone (an assertive hormone) and reduces cortisol (a stress hormone). Want to learn more about this cool strategy? See Amy Cuddy’s Ted Talk in the link below on the connection between body language and confidence. http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are

2. Talk strongThe things we say to and about ourselves (e.g., our self-talk) can also increase (or decrease) our confidence. So it’s important to be aware of what we’re saying to ourselves and to make sure that our self-talk is effective, or helpful. Helpful self-talk is in the first person and present-tense, positive, short and specific, and is repeated often. For example, a swimmer might say to himself, “I am strong and fast,” or a cyclist may tell herself before a race, “I am excited and ready to go.”

3. Imagine confidenceImagery, or creating/re-creating an experience in our minds, also impacts our confidence. A runner may create the race he is about to run in his mind beforehand. Using all his senses, the runner sees himself winning, feels his strong and healthy body powering through the race, and feels excitement and happiness from his superior performance. Doing this will give the runner an optimal confidence boost as he approaches the start-line of his race.

Millions of people, about half of all adults in North America, decide to start the New Year by making a resolution. Some of the more common resolutions for adults are to lose weight, quit smoking, or start exercising. So if you’re one of these individuals making a resolution to change a behavior this year, how do you set yourself up for success?

Consider your motivation. The behavior should be important and meaningful to you. So think about why it’s important for you to make this change and write it down. We’re more likely to be successful when changing a behavior if the new behavior is aligned with our personal values.

Set a very specific goal. Instead of aiming to “lose weight,” “start exercising,” or “become a better runner,” start by identifying a specific behavior you want to change or a particular outcome you want to achieve. For example, walking for 30 minutes five days a week, doing that yoga DVD twice a week, or shaving a minute off your 5k time.

Make it part of your routine. It takes a minimum of several weeks to create a new habit, or ritual, but if you make your behavior change part of your regular daily routine (as in, actually schedule your workouts during the week), you’re more likely to stick with it. Better yet, develop pre- and post-workout rituals too! These could be: drinking enough water before exercise, stretching or warming up, post-exercise stretching, and showering.

Surround yourself with social support. Exercisers are more likely to experience success and stick with exercise if they exercise with others (or at least one other person) or if they work with a fitness professional. So think about finding an exercise buddy, or joining a group exercise class.

Acknowledge that setbacks will happen. No one is perfect, so we will all have that day where simply getting out of bed is an accomplishment. Don’t beat yourself up about it. Rather, focus on your successes, and when setbacks do happen, try to learn from them. Did a lack of sleep result in not enough energy to work out the next day? A too-heavy lunch leave you feeling sluggish all afternoon? Learn from these setbacks so you’re better prepared and can avoid those setbacks in the future.

Focus on the positive. Stay positive by noticing the more immediate benefits of a specific behavior pattern. Meaning, pay attention to how much more energy you have after eating healthy for a few days, or notice how your mood improves after a good workout. Don’t just focus on the numbers (like weight, speed, distance, fitness test scores) because those take time to begin to see, so begin to pay attention to all of the other benefits – like mood, energy, reduced stress, improved form, or that sense of accomplishment. Focusing on all these other benefits will help you to stick with your behavior long-term and actually reach that goal!

I grew up playing all kinds of sports - basketball, soccer, tennis, you name it. As I got older, I began to focus more on soccer. Unfortunately, I suffered a major knee injury in college and was never really able to return to the sport. I tried to make a comeback multiple times but continued to suffer knee injuries. My surgeons told me I should stop playing soccer, and although I initially resisted, eventually I made the decision to stop playing. However, I couldn’t just sit around, so I picked up distance cycling. I still enjoy long bike rides, but I really missed running. One surgeon told me that running probably wasn’t a good idea for me either, and that I would be lucky if I could run a 5k. I took that as a green light to start running again – but slowly and only a little at a time. Now, years later, I’ve run dozens of 5ks, a handful of 10ks, one 15k, and am preparing to toe the line for my first half marathon this weekend.

Several of my students and friends are also running one or more of the Christie Clinic Illinois Marathon events this weekend too, and many of them are like me and tackling a new distance. Quite a few of them are nervous (especially with the weather reports predicting rain in the forecast) and have asked me for advice. While this is my first half-marathon, I have been fortunate enough to have consulted with numerous runners and have participated in a Psyching Team before – these are teams of sport, exercise, and performance psychology practitioners that provide mental training prior to, during, and after races across the country and world (see ﻿Psy﻿ching Teams website here) and so here are my tips for anyone with an upcoming race:1)Calm your nerves. Everyone gets pre-race or pre-competition jitters – just listen to any number of Michael Phelps interviews – but realize that those jitters don’t have to be negative. That nervous energy can be interpreted as meaning you care and have worked hard. Steve Prefontaine experienced pre-race anxiety, but like Michael Phelps, interpreted that nervousness to mean he was prepared and ready. If, however, you find yourself interpreting those jitters as negative, it’s important to understand why you’re nervous and to identify the signs of pre-race jitters. Are you second guessing yourself? Worried your training didn’t go exactly as planned? Remind yourself that you are ready, and strike a superhero pose. Stand with your feet apart, hands on your hips, head up, and chest open. Standing in a power pose like this for just a few minutes can actually lower your stress! Do you find yourself overthinking things? Distract yourself by keeping busy. On the morning of the race, try doing some crossword puzzles or play rock-paper-scissors with a friend. If you’re running the Christie Clinic IL Marathon this weekend and need a friend to play rock-paper-scissors with, come find me!2) Set goals. Running any distance for the first time can seem daunting, especially if the conditions are not ideal. Having set goals can benefit us in so many ways, including enhancing our performance and prolonging our effort and persistence. Meaning, if we encounter an obstacle or barrier, we’re less likely to give up and more motivated to try to work through those barriers. Many runners have a goal in mind that they would like to achieve, but there are several guidelines that should be followed to maximize the effectiveness of your goals. Create a positively worded goal, to increase motivation and improve the likelihood of reaching your goals. For example, “run the entire race” is a better goal than “don’t walk at all during the race.” Your goal should be specific and measurable. In other words, you should be able to very clearly determine if you have reached your goal. For example, if your goal is to “start slow,” it may be difficult for you know if you’ve really met that goal. However, if you adjust your goal to be “keep my pace slower than 9:00/mi for the first three miles” it will be much easier to determine if you have reached your goal. Set a challenging but realistic goal. Your goal should be one that requires you to put forth an effort, but at the same time should be possible for you to reach. Keep this in mind especially when you are going to be facing challenging conditions. You may be attempting to set a personal record, but if factors arise that are outside of your control (weather, for example), you may have to adjust your goal so that it is realistic given the circumstances. Break your ultimate goal up into smaller goals. One way to do this is to break your race up into segments and create a separate goal for each. This way the distance will seem less challenging, and it will help keep you on track to reach your ultimate race goal. For example, you might break up the half marathon into four segments of close to three miles each. For the first three miles, your goal might be to hold back and start off just under your goal pace, to prevent starting out too fast. For the second three miles, your goal might be to maintain a steady pace, for the next segment aim to enjoy the race and take in all the different sights and people around you. For the final portion of the race, finish strong by giving it all your effort. 3)Create a mantra. We all say negative things to ourselves sometimes (“I can’t do this” “I’ll never finish”) but we believe what we say, so it’s important to be aware of how we talk to ourselves. A mantra is a short phrase that can remind you of your goals, can give you that energy boost when you need it, and is believed to have psychological and/or spiritual power. Repeating your mantra to yourself during your race can help you focus on the moment and help you move past potential barriers. Mantras should be positive and repeated often and with meaning. Some examples include: “I am a warrior, I am strong,” “Relax and keep moving forward.”4)Have FUN! Isn’t that why most of us started running in the first place? Because it’s fun! So enjoy the race day and remind yourself how fortunate you are that you’re able to run.

If you try any of these tips for one of your races, let us know how it goes in the comments section!

﻿﻿What percentage of any performance (sport or otherwise) is mental? The field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology (SEPP) focuses on the mental side of performance with the general goal of enhancing performance. Sport, exercise, and performance psychology is the study of how psychology and psychological factors influences performance in a variety of domains.

What is a performance enhancement consultant?Here at Next Level Mind Consulting we provide performance enhancement consulting designed to help you learn the mental skills necessary to maximize your performance - on the athletic field, in the gym, in the classroom, or at work! The goal of performance enhancement consulting is to apply knowledge from the field of sport, exercise, and performance psychology to enhance performance. Performance enhancement consultants often teach performers the mental skills needed to perform at their peak consistently in both training and competition. These mental skills can be used to enhance performance for ANYONE - athletes, coaches, exercisers, police officers, fire fighters, EMTs, circus performers, actors or actresses, musicians, officials, surgeons, military, business leaders, teachers, or students!﻿﻿